28th June 2018

A couple of collectors have such lovely collections of realistic/goofy dog buttons that I have started buying a few of my own.

Buttons shaped like the actual objects they depict are known as ‘Goofies’ (especially in the USA), realistic or figural buttons. They rarely existed before the 1930s apart from occasional flower or shell shaped button. In Australia, they were first written about in 1936. They were very fashionable for ladies for the next few years. Sometime between 1940 and the mid 1950s they morphed into something for children’s clothes only (except perhaps for flower shaped).

I’ve gone back to Trove to pick out details of animal figural buttons.

1936

1936. Notice her fish buttons

1937

1937

1937. They are hard to see, but they are fish buttons or her waistcoat.